comp hard/software Flashcards
Why do computers use binary?
To store information simply and easily.
List the powers of 2 up to 1024.
- 1
- 2
- 4
- 8
- 16
- 32
- 64
- 128
- 256
- 512
- 1024
How do you convert binary to decimal?
Add up the power of 2s for each position with a one.
How do you convert decimal to binary?
Write out powers of 2 starting with 128, placing a 1 or 0 based on if the number is bigger or smaller. Subtract it if it’s bigger.
What is the purpose of a CPU?
Interprets, processes, and executes instructions from hardware/software programs.
What does a motherboard do?
Connects all essential internal components, providing power and communication.
What is RAM used for?
Short-term storage for temporary data accessed quickly by the CPU.
What is ROM?
Permanent memory that stores essential startup and communication instructions.
What do HDDs use to store data?
Spinning magnetic disks.
What technology do SSDs use?
Flash memory technology.
What is the role of a power supply in a computer?
Provides power to all components of a computer.
What does HDMI stand for?
High-Definition Multimedia Interface.
What is the purpose of USB ports?
To connect peripheral devices for data transfer or power supply.
What is the function of Ethernet ports?
Connect devices within a local network using a physical cable.
What are the advantages of USB-C over USB-A?
Compact, reversible, faster data transfer and power delivery.
List the advantages of SSDs over HDDs.
- Smaller
- Faster
- Durable
- Quieter
- Use less energy
What is the main advantage of an HDD?
Cheaper and has more storage capacity.
What are computer peripherals?
External devices connected to a computer.
Give examples of input peripherals.
- Keyboards
- Mice
- Microphones
Give examples of output peripherals.
- Monitors
- Printers
- Headphones
What is an application?
A computer program designed to perform a specific task for a user.
What is an operating system?
A program that manages all other programs on the computer.
List several desktop/laptop operating systems.
- Chrome OS
- Microsoft Windows
- macOS
- Linux
What are the two most common mobile operating systems?
- Google Android
- Apple iOS
What are BIOS and UEFI used for?
Connecting the computer’s OS to its hardware and firmware.
Where are BIOS and UEFI stored?
In the motherboard.
What is ASCII?
American Standard Code for Information Interchange.
What was the purpose of creating ASCII?
To enable communication between different computers.
What is Unicode?
A computer encoding standard for different alphabets and symbols.
What does Unicode do that ASCII doesn’t?
Encodes multiple alphabets and unique characters, using up to 32 bits.
How is data represented in hard drives?
By translating transitions in magnetization on discs to binary code.
How is data represented in flash memory?
As electric charges in memory cells.
How is data represented in RAM?
Using a transistor and a capacitor to create memory cells.
How is data represented on optical discs?
Using a laser to read and etch marks into discs.
How is data transmitted over wire?
Using currents at two different voltages.
How is data transmitted through fiber-optic cables?
Using pulses of infrared or visible light.
How is data encoded in radio waves?
By modulating amplitude or frequency.
List the following units in order of size.
- Bit
- Byte
- Kilobyte
- Megabyte
- Gigabyte
- Terabyte
How many bits are in a byte?
8 bits.
How many bits are in a kilobyte?
8,192 bits.
How many bits are in a megabyte?
8,388,608 bits.
How many bits are in a gigabyte?
8,589,934,592 bits.
How many bits are in a terabyte?
8,796,093,022,208 bits.
Match common file types to their typical measurement units.
Text files, docs, images, audio, video, apps, databases
- Text files: bytes or KB
- Docs: KB to low MB
- Images: typically MB
- Audio: usually MB but can be GB
- Video: usually GB
- Apps: MB-GB
- Databases: GB-TB
How do you express file size from bits into a reasonable unit?
Divide bits by 8 for bytes, then convert bytes to KB/MB/GB by dividing by 1,024.
ex) 8,000,000 bits = 1,000,000 bytes
976 KB (~1000 KB)
0.953 MB (~1 MB)
0.000931 GB (~0.001 GB)
Describe situations where petabytes and exabytes might be used.
- Large data centers
- Cloud storage
- Scientific research
- Internet data traffic
What is the typical capacity of RAM?
8-32 GB.
What is the usual capacity range for HDDs and SSDs?
Hundreds of GB to several TB.
